Also I should say right here that I’m on the board of the Friends of the NCMNS, so you have to recognize that I love and support the museum whether it wins popularity contests or not. But popular indeed: it had 1.2 million visitors in 2012; number two attraction Biltmore, in Asheville, the Vanderbilt ubermansion that’s billed as the country’s largest private residence, had 1.1 visitors, and so for the first time in the nine years Carolina Publishing Associates has been making this list, Biltmore did not win: a science museum did. That’s big for a state whose leadership has recently deeply commited itself to both science denialism and education bashing.

So I’ll say again, to all those considering coming here to work, to play, to live, to visit: the problem isn’t the population. The people like science and education. The legislature and the governor don’t. The people will be here a long time. Stick with us, folks. Science will have its way in the end.

About the Author: A writer who commonly explores science, culture, and the relationship between the two. Follow on Twitter @huler.

18 Comments

Agreed, an entire population is never ALL bad or to blame for the mistakes of their government. It’s just a shame that the 20 – 30 percent of people that reliably come out to vote for the anti-science clowns in state (and federal) legislatures can really cause major problems for 100% of the population.

It doesn’t help that a lot of states are mostly made up of totally uncompetitive congressional districts (drawn by the very people that stand to benefit from the lack of competitive districts), so gerrymandering by state legislatures is probably an even BIGGER problem in these states.

And it also doesn’t help that many of these states tried to disenfranchise many different groups of voters with onerous and unnecessary “voter I.D.” laws or intentionally making voters in urban areas wait hours to vote though a lack of polling places / personnel. So even if voter turnout got significantly higher than 50% (the 2012 election got close to 55% turnout I think…), a lot of those extra voters wouldn’t even be able to cast their vote!

Long story short, the lack of competitive districts means that the extremists get to have more and more control over government since politicians have to worry more about primaries than the general election. And we get all the crazy like we’re seeing in NC and a lot of other states. Heck, we’ve got a state rep from WA claiming that someone riding a bicycle releases more CO2 that someone driving a car!!!

Things have changed in the last year in NC government. For the first time since reconstruction we have Republicans controlling the House, Congress, and a Republican Governor. Bev ‘We should cancel the 2012 elections’ Perdue, the last Governor didn’t even attempt a second term. She was the one who also said when vetoing a bill on preserving the Outer Banks that ‘all the arguments were only science.’

The NC government is far from fixed, the system is still broken, but progress is being made to restore it. There’s an old joke in NC. What do you call an ex-Governor …. Inmate.

North Carolina’s main industries forty years ago were Tobacco and Textiles. It’s now technology.

When you try to generalize and stereotype people and regions you fall into a socialist logic trap and base your assumptions on a distortion of the truth. By definition you are looking at what was. The truths are that people are different and people and things change. You can’t put them all in a nice little box and say they’re all the same. Life doesn’t work that way.

I am also from NC and love the sciences. I would love for this to be indicative North Carolinian love of science. This only shows that people who go to tourist attractions in NC are apt to go to science attractions. How many of those people were from out of state and how many of the almost 10 million people in NC did not go to any tourist attraction. How many visitors did Carowinds have last year? Like 20 million?

Gerrymandering legislative districts can dramatically skew elections. I believe I read that in the last election, more North Carolinians voted for Democratic congressional candidates overall than Republican candidates, yet far more Republican candidates won than Democrats. It seems Republicans know maps and math even as they deny science.

Sorry, not buying it. While you are (and should be) encouraging the intelligent NC residents, the fact is these antiscience types were elected by a majority vote. In a northeastern state anyone who acted as they do would never be reelected, in NC it happens again and again. The BTW, it’s still illegal to hold state office in NC if you are an atheist.

There was nothing scientific about the article that North Carolina citizens are not the problem. It would have been more scientific to show polls that tell us that about 60% of the people in North Carolina believe God created the Earth about 7000 years ago.

I find it sort of ironic that this moronic author continues to denigrate the very state where he chooses to live and work.
Also, frankblank, why would you call our new Governor a brain dead schmuck? Perhaps you need a mirror? Is it because he has been such a success in his public as well as personal life? Is it because he doesn’t give you anything to go after him for, so you need to resort to childish name calling? Perhaps you do need that mirror.

That science denying sea level law is all about North Carolina getting the rest of the US to subsidize its land development policies. It has little to do with whether anyone in the state “loves” science.

If a state allows development in areas subject to more frequent extreme flood due to sea level rise, the feds have to pick up the tab when the inevitable disaster strikes. Its not rocket science. Money flows in from the rest of the US to the state. The developers benefit when they build, and again when they rebuild with all the federal disaster funds. Its a no brainer, unless you’re one of the schmucks who buys one of the properties.

Take a look at the Stafford Act. When the President declares a disaster, its provisions kick in. It authorizes rebuilding just the way things were, and mandates substantial federal aid, to “disaster” stricken communities. Flood events are becoming federally funded urban renewal.

It’s amazing 60% of NC’s population thinks the earth is only 6000 or 7000 years old. Perpetuating this nonsensical notion is ridiculous. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the Earth is 6000 or 7000 years old this is all inference based on translation after translation from many different people at various times in history so give it a rest. To resist science fact when it’s convenient and supplement it with religious faith as the reason is the epitome of hypocrisy. Today’s politicians are akin to the Pharisee’s of the OT and their time will come.

I’m ready to see a link to this claim that 60% of North Carolinians are strict creationists. Not that I believe it’s not possible — hell, 40% of the whole country is — but I just can’t find it. So I’d like to see it. As for the atheist/public office thing, that appears to be true. Though it’s not enforced, it’s hellish and shameful. Another low point for NC. @Postman1, I’ve always believed that criticizing your government when it’s wrong is a right and a responsibility. I’m willing to bet that there’s at least one national public servant you did not vote for and who you believe is doing harm to our nation. Yet you remain in the United States, right? You criticize my work, yet you appear to still read it. You probably ought to rethink your point.